Nicole Kidman shares her casting philosophy after replacing Cate Blanchett in Being the Ricardos

Aaron Sorkin's biographical drama Being the Ricardos almost cast another Oscar-winning Australian actress as Lucille Ball, and its star is addressing the switch-up for the first time.

Nicole Kidman stars as the legendary comedian in the Amazon Studios drama, which chronicles Ball's turbulent personal and professional relationship with husband Desi Arnaz (played by Javier Bardem) over the course of a production week on set of their hit sitcom, I Love Lucy.

Kidman was cast in the role after Cate Blanchett, who was in early talks to star as Ball, dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. In an interview with The New York Times published on Sunday, Kidman reflected on replacing the fellow Aussie, sharing a personal casting philosophy: everything happens for a reason.

"I feel like there's a sacred pact among us all — whoever gets something, that's where it was meant to land," Kidman said.

Ball and Arnaz's daughter Lucie, who serves as executive producer on the film, told the Times that she was "devastated" when Blanchett departed the project. "It just took too long and we lost her," she said. "I was devastated."

Arnaz said the casting process had been challenging before finding Kidman. "None of them made me happy," she said. "It was always like, who's the flavor of the month? Who's got the hot movie of the minute?"

While the project found its Ball, Kidman's casting initially caused a stir online: critics noted that she bore no resemblance to the comedy icon. The Oscar winner admitted that the backlash caused anxiety — so much so that she tried to drop out of the film.

"I went, 'What have I said yes to?'" Kidman said while on Live With Kelly and Ryan earlier this month. "To which I then went, 'Oh no, I'm not right. Everyone thinks I'm not right so I'm going to try to sidestep this."

Sorkin and the film crew had other ideas. "The producer Todd Black and Aaron Sorkin were both like, 'Absolutely not,'" Kidman said. "I was in Australia and they were like, 'No.' And thank god, because then I was so grateful because I got to fall in love with her."

Being the Ricardos is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video now.

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